This may get long...I used to be a complete Otter Box nut. Seriously I would get my new phone and before I walked out of the store it had the plain-jane black Otter Box Defender case on it.Those things are clunky, and honestly not all that durable; at some point the rubber shell cover gets all nasty and stretched out. Eventually the clamshell belt clip will break and did many times over the years that I used them. That left me with a HUGE, bulky case on the phone; don't get me wrong, I love my big Samsung Galaxy Note phones, but the cases were ridiculous. This is were my UAG story begins. It was the fall of 2014 and I had just gotten my Samsung Galaxy Note 4, as with all my other phones I had walked out the door with this massive Otter Box on it. Within a month the clamshell was destroyed, the rubber flaps over the ports had torn a bit and wouldn't stay shut and the screen protector was in shreds. Mind you, I'm not blatantly rough on my devices and take care of them, but I still use them, and that's what I get them for, to use!.While I am a Sprint customer, a very close friend of mine works at the local Verizon store and is the manager there. While visiting with her one day to get a new charging cable for the phone, she noticed my very decrepit looking Otter Box and commented that I may need to think about a different brand. Talk about good sales tactics here, because in that moment she was also stocking this new case brand that I had never heard of, Urban Armor Gear. What a strange name, but I saw these super cool looking, minimalist cases that honestly didn't look like they did a whole lot. I first laid eyes on the sweet bright Orange Pathfinder and said I had to have it instantly. Yep... I made a snap decision based on the look of the case, and without knowing anything about it.My friend was cashing me out and I saw the price tag scroll across the screen showing $40.56, at this point I kind of flipped out a little and wanted to know why it was "so expensive for this case that barely covered the phone". Before I could say anything though she had paid for it and told me Happy Birthday! I thanked her and went my merry way with this bright new Pathfinder case that I loved the look and feel of. Fast forward only a few hours and I'm on the second floor of the University and my phone slips out of my breast pocket as I lean over the railing, down goes my phone all the way to the concrete below... I was certain that my phone was smashed to bits inside the case and the screen at minimum would be shattered... Once I made it down and picked up the phone I was absolutely shocked the discover that not only was the phone not damaged in the least, but even my glass screen protector was intact! This got me into searching out the UAG company and finding out more about their products; low and behold I found the limited info, but that is all they need. The specifications are not extensive, just the bare bones details to tell you that your device is protected inside their products. I had that phone and case up until December of 2016 when I switched to my Galaxy S7. This time, I walked out the door with my shiny new S7 snuggly fitted into a brand new UAG Pathfinder case. The S7 and the case are still mated together and work just fine but I really wanted the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 because I missed my S-Pen, before walking up to the counter to purchase my new phone I had the UAG Plasma Crystal in hand ready to slip on the new phone. I'm a bit of a clean phone snob and so I do have a dBrand Skin on my phone, even inside of the UAG case, but my ultimate idea of how to change the look of my phone is with a UAG case. This brought me to the decision on going all the way up the ladder and getting myself the beautiful Monarch case in Metalic Red with top grain leather. If you run into me on the street, or travelling abroad, you can put a $100 down on a bet that I will have a UAG case on my phone as long as the company keeps making cases. I don't give brand loyalty to many companies, and the product has to be worthwhile. In my experience and opinion, UAG goes above and beyond to produce a very durable, sleek looking, and incredibly protective case that is unsurpassed by any other case at this price point and size. There are other "rugged looking" cases, and they are super fancy with all the metal hardware and bolts being them together, but I'm sticking behind UAG with their tough, easy to use and fantastic looking cases. I know my phone is protected and the case is going to outlast the time that I will be using the device.